Ebay Engines

[NismoZ]

Hi all, I was wondering if anybody has experience with the Datsun-Parts LLC engines? here is an example

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-240Z-260Z-280Z-N42-F54-L28-Long-Block-Engine-2_W0QQitemZ400093875777QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5d27740e41

[sblake01]

Read through this thread and draw your own conclusions.....

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32275

[Darrel]

that sure is a purdy paint job.

[Rich1]

I see these motors listed all the time. The ads always mention that the work is completed and warranted by a shop in Riverside, Ca. Anyone know which shop this is? I tried to get the info out of him by emailing his ebay site--but the response was--this information is only given out after purchase.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Rich1

[GreenZZZ]

All engines must be installed by an A.S.E. certified mechanic or other licensed professional shop for warranty to be valid. :sick:

[NismoZ]

Read through this thread and draw your own conclusions.....

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32275

Thanks for the link...

[NismoZ]

I see these motors listed all the time. The ads always mention that the work is completed and warranted by a shop in Riverside, Ca. Anyone know which shop this is? I tried to get the info out of him by email his ebay site--but the response was--this information is only given out after purchase.

Yea i saw that.. im not to far from Riverside myself...it would be nice to find out where he is sourcing these engines from. Since this info is given out after a engine purchase.. can a customer of Datsun-Parts that bought a engine chime in? surly there is at least one person.

Edited December 31, 2009 by NismoZ

[NismoZ]

All engines must be installed by an A.S.E. certified mechanic or other licensed professional shop for warranty to be valid. :sick:

I didnt see that disclaimer ...if this is true that's a way of him being able to weasel his way out of 90% warranty claims considering most z owners work on their own cars... Perhaps his engines are'nt that good then? Edited December 31, 2009 by NismoZ

[GreenZZZ]

I didnt see that disclaimer ...if this is true that's a way of him being able to weasel his way out of 90% warranty claims considering most z owners work on their own cars... Perhaps his engines are'nt that good then?

I'd say the consensus Classic Z Car Club opinion of what "completely restored" means and what Datsun Parts LLC considers the term to mean are separated by the vastness of space and time to the point where if the two were ever to collide, the whole universe would be destroyed.

[lmcguffin]

I believe that most reman engine distributors have the same disclaimer. Here's our reman engine story:

My son found a 81-83 ZX w/ P79 long block reman on eBay listed for $400. It was from a distributor somewhere near Tyler, TX. He was hot to go the shaved P79/flattop piston setup. I told him not to go over $500 as it sounded too good to be true. He got ferverish and won it at $800, and then we ended up spending another $2000 to sort it out. Short list of issues:

It was a P79 head, but a N42 block with dish pistons. Should have been F54 w/ flattop. Contacted distributor; he ended up agreeing to compensate us for half the cost of new pistons.

I immediately spotted the shims under the cam towers. Time to go to the machine shop.

Valve guides had been "resleeved". Yup. Had to tap out valves with hammer and drift. Installed new guides and did valve job. Straightened and leveled head.

Main and rod bearings were improperly sized and too tight. Had to true up main bearing bores and machine crank to fit correct undersized bearings.

Rehoned cylinders and matched to new flattop pistons.

So after $1700 at the machine shop, and $300 for new pistons, and assembling the engine ourselves, we've got a good engine. Granted, the engine probably would have "run" as it was delivered. Not sure how long, but we wanted a good motor so we were willing to spend some money to get it right.

Moral of the story: You get what you pay for. I think the average cost for a reputable stock rebuilt engine is $2200. Be careful unless you know the seller or can verify the goods. We only bought a long block as we had a donor engine for the remaining bolt-on stuff.

[lmcguffin]

One thing I forgot to add to our list of woe is that the block was bored 1mm over. That meant I had to find 87mm flattop pistons, which are getting quite scarce. Soooo, I've got a new set of 87mm dish pistons; origin unknown..... for a good price.....

[NismoZ]

I believe that most reman engine distributors have the same disclaimer. Here's our reman engine story:

My son found a 81-83 ZX w/ P79 long block reman on eBay listed for $400. It was from a distributor somewhere near Tyler, TX. He was hot to go the shaved P79/flattop piston setup. I told him not to go over $500 as it sounded too good to be true. He got ferverish and won it at $800, and then we ended up spending another $2000 to sort it out. Short list of issues:

It was a P79 head, but a N42 block with dish pistons. Should have been F54 w/ flattop. Contacted distributor; he ended up agreeing to compensate us for half the cost of new pistons.

I immediately spotted the shims under the cam towers. Time to go to the machine shop.

Valve guides had been "resleeved". Yup. Had to tap out valves with hammer and drift. Installed new guides and did valve job. Straightened and leveled head.

Main and rod bearings were improperly sized and too tight. Had to true up main bearing bores and machine crank to fit correct undersized bearings.

Rehoned cylinders and matched to new flattop pistons.

So after $1700 at the machine shop, and $300 for new pistons, and assembling the engine ourselves, we've got a good engine. Granted, the engine probably would have "run" as it was delivered. Not sure how long, but we wanted a good motor so we were willing to spend some money to get it right.

Moral of the story: You get what you pay for. I think the average cost for a reputable stock rebuilt engine is $2200. Be careful unless you know the seller or can verify the goods. We only bought a long block as we had a donor engine for the remaining bolt-on stuff.

Thanks for the insight and fair warning.. I saw those engines and it looked like a good deal but looks can be deceiving very deceiving... its one of the reasons i started this post, I wanted to see if it was too good to be true which it probably is considering Datsun-Parts rep Edited December 31, 2009 by NismoZ